On February 11, the traditional Southern Chinese Little New Year, in Taihe Town, Dongpo District of Meishan City, we followed postal courier Bai Dan as she delivered packages to rural households, witnessing villagers' joy as they unpacked their parcels. The deliveries included ingredients for reunion dinners, energy-efficient stoves, cat food, and flower seeds planted especially for grandchildren.

Bai Dan, a young mail carrier at the Taihe Post Office

At 8:30 a.m., Bai Dan began her busy day, handling more than 700 packages daily—nearly matching the volume seen during the 'Singles' Day' shopping festival. As the Lunar New Year approaches, parcel volumes continue to rise, with some residents opting to pick up their orders directly at the post office. Aunt Liu purchased a large red plastic broom, saying her neighbor had asked her to buy one on their behalf. Brother Li received a water pipe filter and praised its flexibility and filtration capability. Before the New Year, most packages contained festive gift boxes; recently, however, there has been an increase in impulse purchases made after watching short videos online.

The green postal van arrived in Yongfeng Village, where 73-year-old Chen Jiyuan rode his electric scooter to meet the vehicle and collect two packages. An avid online shopper, Chen has natural gas installed at home and plans to host three tables for his reunion dinner this year. He specifically bought a double-layer windproof energy-saving stove cover, pointing to the packaging that read "safe, energy-saving, windproof, and fast cooking", and emphasized: "Saving energy means saving money."

Bai Dan delivered the package to Li Kangjun

The postal van stopped outside "Xia Junjie's Family Banquet", where owner Shuai Yinya accepted a roll of agricultural plastic mulch film, preparing to grow Erjingtiao chili seedlings—after running out of pickled peppers last year, she intends to plant more this time. Next door, Sister Kang received a package of twice-cooked pork seasoning from her daughter and joked that her daughter will take over the kitchen when she returns for the holiday. Zhang Chengyu set up a new folding wooden table, planning to enjoy tea and sunshine in his courtyard. Fifty-seven-year-old Li Kangjun cradled his cat, "Princess", while awaiting a delivery—his child working away from home sent cat treats as a Little New Year meal and even included a blue cat as a companion to keep the elderly man from feeling lonely. Li Kangjun said that with doorstep delivery now available in the village, there's no need to stockpile goods; he can simply order whenever he wants.

Xie Yongzhong was very pleased to receive the flower seeds

The final stop of the morning was Group 1 of Siwei Village. Xie Yongzhong, wearing an apron, opened the door adorned with a red "Xi" (double happiness) character—he had just welcomed a grandson and was busy with household chores. His package contained a 250-gram bag of zinnia seeds. Dubbed a "Good Man of Sichuan", Xie scattered the mixed-color seeds into empty spaces in his vegetable garden, explaining that they would sprout in five days and bloom within 30, providing continuous color throughout the year. His wife quietly complimented how beautiful his flowers were. In 30 days, the vibrant blossoms filling the yard will be the perfect gift for his grandson's 100-day celebration.

With the postal van now empty, Bai Dan informed everyone before heading back: "We remain open during the Spring Festival—operating half-days from Lunar New Year's Day through the seventh day." The villagers' joy of unpacking parcels will continue uninterrupted through the holiday.

【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成，特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】